Backed against a wall that’s wet with paint. Someone is in the curtains, his back to me. Rachel screams from upstairs and he turns. His eyes, blue and hard, fall on my face for a second before he slips away.My eyes flutter open, and I’m face to face with another pair of blue eyes. I scream.Skyler startles backward. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just watching you sleep.”“What time is it?” The darkroom is pitch black. I dig for my phone. It says 4:45.I don’t remember falling asleep. I remember Skyler getting a pillow and blanket out of the cupboard, saying that he sometimes slept in the darkroom when his dad was mad at him. I remember him lying on the floor beside me while he explained about little silver crystals clinging to the places where the film was exposed to light. I remember watching him move the bottle back and forth hypnotically and me getting sleepier and sleepier while I lay against his chest.“I have to get back. Now!” I scramble to my feet.Skyler scrambles with me.
